Duane Maxwell

BELLVILLE: Duane Amos Maxwell of Bellville passed away Tuesday afternoon, April 15, 2014 in the Hospice House in Ashland surrounded by family. He was 75.

Born July 23, 1938 in Mansfield, he was the only child of Amos & Edna (Longshore) Maxwell and was graduated from Mansfield Senior High with the class of 1956.

He met Geraldine "Geri" Welch on a blind double-date to the movies and the two married on June 7, 1958 when he was 19 and she was just 17. Together they celebrated 55 years of marriage last summer.

Duane worked as a machinist with the Barnes Manufacturing Company in Mansfield for 33 years until they closed. He moved to Cooper Industries in Mount Vernon for 5 years and ended his career with Shade Manufacturing in Bellville from which he retired in 2000. As a Jefferson Township Volunteer Firefighter for more than 10 years, many times Duane would fight fires at night (run home for a cup of coffee) then put in a full day's work at the plant.

Retirement brought a new chapter to Duane's life as he and his wife embarked on a 3-month motor home trip in Texas to visit friends and family. That trip sparked travels of all sorts and they especially enjoyed going 'off the beaten path' to see what they could find. A favorite month-long trip was taken out west with Dick & Jan Shafer. Wintering in Florida helped them escape the Ohio snow and allowed Duane to fish to his heart's content.

Duane loved to fish and at one time kept a boat on Lake Erie. He also enjoyed hunting, golfing and showing up the younger guys in a game of horseshoes.

Duane was a faithful member of St. Paul Lutheran Church.

In addition to his loving wife Geri Maxwell of Bellville, Duane is survived by a son Steven Maxwell of Houston, TX; a daughter and son-in-law Diane & Michael Jung of Bellville; 5 grandchildren: Kelly Jo (Aaron) Nyholt, John Maxwell, Ryan (Kelly) Jung, Kayla Jung, and Heather (Jon) Andrews; one great-granddaughter Jaelyn Cunningham; a sister-in-law Jean Reed; and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson Jason Maxwell; and a brother-in-law Carroll Reed.

Friends are invited to call 10-11:30am Monday, April 21, 2014 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bellville where a memorial service celebrating Duane's life will be held at 11:30 and Pastor Douglas Pretorius will officiate.

Contributions in his memory may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church or Hospice of North Central Ohio and sent in the care of the funeral home: P.O. Box 3085, Mansfield, Ohio 44904.

Snyder Funeral Homes is honored to serve Duane's family and private messages may be sent at: SnyderFuneralHomes.com